Donna the Buffalo, Chris Janson among cool upcoming shows

Friday

May 11, 2018 at 4:00 AMMay 11, 2018 at 7:47 AM

By Jay N. Miller/The Patriot Ledger

The original inspiration for the band Donna the Buffalo was simply old time community music shows, where the variety of styles you heard was only limited by the number of willing performers. That concept is more like a revue than an open mike, of course, but the idea has endured with the band since its founding in 1989 in their home base of Trumansburg, New York, a small, population 1700 town just north of Ithaca (and a short hop up the road from Podunk).

Donna the Buffalo just finished recording its 11th studio album and will be performing on Saturday night at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River. Their spring-summer tour actually starts tonight in Ithaca, and continues after the Fall River concert with a show at Infinity Hall in Norfolk, Connecticut on Sunday night. The Narrows Center is at 16 Anawan St., close by Battleship Cove in Fall River. The show begins at 8 p.m., and tickets are $27 in advance, and $30 day of show. For ticket info check www.narrowscenter.org, or call 508-324-1926.

Donna the Buffalo - the name derived from a pal's suggestion that they call themselves the more mystical Dawn of the Buffalo, but they misheard him - is led by vocalist Tara Nevins, who also plays a variety of instruments, including fiddle, guitar and accordion, and vocalist/guitarist Jeb Puryear. The rest of the lineup has shifted through the years, but the current group also includes David McCracken on keyboards, Kyle Spark on bass, and Mark Raudabaugh on drums.

Donna the Buffalo's last release was 2013's "Tonight, Tomorrow and Yesterday" so their fans - often referred to as The Herd - are eagerly awaiting the forthcoming album. This past February they went to El Paso, Texas, to record at The Sonic Ranch, a state of the art studio in an 80-year old hacienda close to the Mexican border, with a pecan orchard on site.

Perhaps even more intriguing than that setting was the man at the helm, as the band had Rob Fraboni producing. Music fans will know that name as a recording veteran who's worked with Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, The Band, Bonnie Raitt, and The Rolling Stones among many others.

Among the many unique features of Donna the Buffalo and their fanbase is the large community of tapers who provide free downloads of their shows online. Another, newer feature is provided by The Vest Brothers, longtime Herd members with an interest in audio/video recording. Now, by logging onto the band's website, fans can access a live stream of selected shows, enabling them to watch from their computer screens or smartphones.

Donna the Buffalo has an interesting and wide-ranging spot in the American musical firmament, with hordes of jamband fans among their throngs, and as a five-member mixmaster of almost every conceivable American style, they occupy a lofty perch among Americana groups. More specifically, a typical show might include folk and folk-rock, country and country-rock stylings, some bluegrass, zydeco, reggae, funk and rock. The emphasis is always on a solid groove and a busy dance floor, and a kind of party vibe that follows them everywhere. And that's by design, as is their determination to never play a predictable set, because that veering among styles and tempos is one of their signatures. Fans of The Band, or The Grateful Dead, or the solo bands of Levon Helm and Rick Danko will find much to appreciate with Donna the Buffalo.

EDITORS RETURN

Another intriguing date coming up is the May 16 concert by Birmingham, England's Editors at The Paradise Rock Club in Boston. The quintet is on their first American tour in eight years, hot on the heels of their new (March 9 release) album, "Violence." Editors have a pair of platinum albums to their credit, including their second effort, "An End to A Start" from 2007, and their third studio album, 2009's "In This Light And On This Evening," both of which hit the top slot on the pop charts in the United Kingdom. But despite plenty of buzz, and performances on both Jimmy Fallon's "The Tonight Show" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" after that 2007 record, the band never quite matched their U.K. success in the States.

Editors had stated they intended to take their sound in a more primal direction for that 2009 record, but it turned out they just used more electronics, like synthesizers, and less guitar, which moved them away from their original Strokes/Echo and the Bunnymen sound to a more dance-pop feel. Lead guitarist Chris Urbanowicz left the band in 2012, citing musical differences, and we'd wager that having your lead guitarist leave does not indicate your sound is getting closer to raw and raucous rock 'n' roll. We were interested in asking the band about these matters, but it seems they eschew phone interviews, although they'd supposedly be willing to talk after the Boston show. That obviously doesn't work for a preview story, but it will be interesting to see if they've found a formula that may finally break them on this side of the Atlantic.

K.T. TUNSTALL SINGLE WITH McCREADY

Here's an unexpected pairing, as Scottish singer K.T. Tunstall has teamed up with Pearl Jam's guitarist Mike McCready for a single, and video, of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down." Proceeds from the record will go to Pearl Jam's charitable foundation. One side note is that Thunderpussy's Leah Julius plays drums on the track, and that band - an all female quartet - appears at Great Scott in Allston on Tuesday night.

MUSIC CIRCUS GEARS UP

This week marked more shows being announced by the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, and its sister venue, the Cape Cod Melody Tent. Both places open with up-and-coming country star Chris Janson (June 9 at Cohasset, June 10 on the Cape). Some top Cohasset shows include The Little River Band on July 7, Michael Franti on July 13, bluesmen Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang on July 27, Lyle Lovett on August 4, and TV's Daughtry on August 18. The Cape Cod schedule tends to be a bit more adventurous, and also includes all those performers above, with the added appeal of Melissa Etheridge on June 15, Boz Scaggs on June 29, Kenny Wayne Shepherd on July 20, and Ziggy Marley on September 2.